


Colors Burst

by BooksandMoons4ever



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:20:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29484330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooksandMoons4ever/pseuds/BooksandMoons4ever
Summary: (Established Rosella) Valentine's Day One-Shot. What shenanigans can these two get into on the day of love?
Relationships: Rosalie Hale/Bella Swan
Comments: 9
Kudos: 116





	Colors Burst

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! 
> 
> I know, I know I haven't posted on Immoveable Objects AND I'm late on this V-Day one-shot??? Sue me.

"No."

Bella's hopeful face crumbled. The flowers she held outstretched fell to her side as she clutched the heart-shaped box of chocolates to her chest.

"What? Why?" she pouted.

Rosalie straightened from her place beneath the hood of the car. Bella's eyes alighted to a grease smear on her otherwise immaculate face. She pointed the wrench in her hand at her doe-eyed companion.

"I refuse to participate in this ridiculous, fictitious, _human_ holiday that was created for the sole purpose for capitalism to have a financial bump after the holidays. I don't need a day allocated by some nameless, faceless man to dictate how and when I am to express my love for you."

Bella's downtrodden look immediately morphed into one of wonder. "You said it again."

"Pardon?" Rosalie's forehead crinkled in confusion.

"You said that you have love for me. You. Love. Me." Bella's teasing smile emerged. "I'm just still not used to it."

"That's what you took away from all that I said?" Rosalie smirked raising her eyebrow.

"That was the most important thing that you said." Bella replied. She walked over to the stool that Rosalie always left out for her. _"Humans get tired often and rushing you to the hospital from falling on my toolset would be extremely inconvenient for my schedule."_ Rosalie pretended not to hear. She returned her attention to the task at hand, under the hood.

Pout firmly back on her face, Bella began to spin on the stool. "So, that's a no to Valentine's Day, then?"

"That's a no to Valentine's Day." Rosalie said with an unamused tone. Bella's stool squeaked to a stop as her pout deepened.

Bella's eyes cut a glare that Rosalie was pretty sure Bella had learned from her.

It wasn't fair that Rosalie looked just got to look _like that._ Nor was it fair that she got to look _at Bella_ like that. Her beautiful, blonde ringlets were gathered into a mess bun on her head. The clip was doing nothing to prevent rogue tendrils from escaping and falling to frame the blonde vampire's face. Every time Rosalie mindlessly brushed at a particularly stubborn strand, she would smear a bit of grease on her cheek.

Her forearms had a light sheen of motor oil on them, which did everything to highlight the corded definition as Rose casually spun a heavy wrench in her hands. Bella let her eyes track down the blonde's figure encased in hunter green overalls that were only clipped to one side, with only a torn tank top underneath. She grumbled and scuffed her shoes on the shiny floor.

Rosalie leaned her forearms on the lip of hood with a smirk, she gazed at her sullen girlfriend. "What was that Isabella? I couldn't quite hear you from all the way over here."

"I said I had something nice planned for you. I wouldn't even let Alice help me with this one."

Rosalie's expression softened as her golden eyes turned honey. "Sweetheart…you didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to." Bella said making her way over to Rosalie. When she was close enough, Bella gently cupped Rosalie's cheek. Her thumb ghosted over the grease stain but made no move to wipe it off. "You're always telling me that I need to make sure to get as many _human_ experiences as I can, before it's too late and this is definitely one I want to share with you."

"I never knew you were such a cliché, Isabella." Rosalie's small smile stretching as she nuzzled into Bella's hand. Her honey eyes were sparkling with what Bella's was starting to learn was _**love**_.

"You make me want to be a cliché." Bella whispered as she leaned impossibly closer into Rosalie's space.

Bella could feel the cold of Rosalie's lips as they ghosted over her own, barely there.

"Ew! No one wants to see that! Get your hands off of my best friend." Jacob's baritone voice echoed throughout the garage. His sly smirk hidden behind a monstrous sandwich and his eyes chocolate pools of mirth. He quickly ducked the wrench Rosalie threw at him. "Blondie, you know you shouldn't throw those at me. You could accidentally hit me with one of those one day."

"I'm counting on it, Fluffy." Rosalie's saccharine sweet smile in place. "A girl can only dream."

"Yeah, yeah." He said waving the sandwich at her. "Bells, Mama C wants you in the kitchen. Something about you promising to teach her how to bake your famous cookies."

"Oh! That's right!" Bella said smacking her forehead. "She's been wanting to bring food to some of the shelters around Seattle." Now, it was Rosalie's turn to pout.

"You can't leave me with him." Rosalie pleaded and Bella was suddenly very convinced that she and Alice were blood related.

"Oy! 'Him' is right here and 'him' can hear you." Jacob snarked. "You're the one who offered to 'teach me how to be a real mechanic'." Rosalie's glare only intensified, but before she could respond, Bella cut her off.

"You know you love spending time with him, so shush. I promised to help Esme and you promised to help Jacob. You know what that means?"

"That we need to stop promising our time to people." Rosalie grumbled crossing her arms across her chest.

"Rosalie Lillian Hale. I am not 'people.'" Esme said as she suddenly appeared in the garage bay.

"Sorry, mother." Rosalie looked contrite. Jacob snickered as he mumbled ' _Lillian_ ' to himself. Bella was convinced that the glare Rose threw at him would turn him to cinders any second. "I only meant _some_ people."

"Never mind your rudeness, young lady. We can discuss that later." Esme promised as her eyes drifted over to Bella and softened. "Bella, dear. Alice and I gathered all the materials you suggested and we're ready for you."

"Right behind you, Mama C!" Bella affirmed. "Rosalie, if you're good, then we can pick up where we left off, later." Rosalie scoffed but otherwise remained silent. The blonde even went so far as to cross her heart over her chest. "Jacob, if you're good, then you can be the taste-tester."

"Hey! I'm always good! It's her that always starts it." He protested, jerking a thumb in the blonde's direction. Bella just raised an eyebrow that set Rosalie's undead heart phantom beating.

"Like I said, _both_ of you be good." Bella ordered. Jacob and Rosalie childishly stuck their tongues out at each other. With a roll of her eyes, Bella turned on her heels towards the house. The last thing she heard was, "Hey _Lillian_ , did you know you've got something on your face? Just there." Then, a deafening crash and a yell. She shook her head. Sighing deeply as she made her way up to the main house.

* * *

The bedroom door slammed behind Rosalie as she let out a huff. "I thought he would never leave. Why did you keep feeding him?!"

Bella put her bookmarked her place in her book before giving Rosalie her full attention. "Oh hush, you know you had an amazing time with him in the garage. I heard your laughter all the way from the kitchen."

"That was demonic glee because I finally hit him with the wrench." Rose retorted as she took off her work boots and unbuckled the lone clip of her grease-stained overalls. Bella's heart rate immediately sky-rocketed and her mouth ran dry. Rosalie's tank top looked _adhered_ to her and Bella could see every curve and dip of her stomach.

Rosalie slowly turned towards the human with a look that Bella could only describe as **devious**. Honestly, the Cheshire cat would be proud. Cat that caught the canary and she knew that she was the canary. Before her mind could run away with more feline comparisons, Rosalie's voice drifted to her. "Is something wrong, Isabella? You're looking a little pale. Is everything alright?"

Bella could only nod dumbly, not trusting her voice to speak. Rosalie's smirk stretched wider as slowly sauntered over to the bed. "If I remember correctly, you made me a promise earlier and I intend to collect." She let her hair fall from the clip like a cascade of platinum.

"Promise?" Bella's voice cracked.

"Yes, Isabella." Rosalie purred as she let the coveralls drop to a pool of green at her feet. Bella's eyes traced creamy legs up to black, boy shorts and that damned tank top. Rosalie slowly started to crawl her way up the bed. "You promised me that if I was good, then we could continue where we left off…it's later. And I was _**very**_ good." She ended the sentence inches from Bella's face. "I didn't even murder him when he 'accidentally' spilled washer fluid on me."

At that, Bella's treacherous eyes looked down to confirm that yup the tank top was completely soaked. When she snapped her eyes back to Rosalie's face, she was met with the deepest ocher with flecks of gold. "You wouldn't break a promise to me, now would you Isabella?" her voice sent the most delicious shiver down Bella's spine.

"No, Ms. Hale." Bella croaked as she tried to maintain eye contact with the blonde. She could feel the coldness radiating from Rosalie's skin and it felt like a gentle breeze against her overheated body. She didn't even care that Rosalie could hear how desperately her heart was trying to beat itself out of her chest. Bella let her eyes slip shut just as the blonde began to close the distance.

"Good! You stay here while I get this washer fluid off of me." Without another word, Rosalie rose from the bed and made her way to the adjoining bathroom. She stopped with her hand on the door jam. Over her shoulder, she said, "unless…you want to help me."

Bella's head thunked as it hit the headboard. She could hear Rosalie's melodic laughter as the water turned on.

"We're breaking up!"

"Don't make promises you know you can't keep, Isabella!" Rosalie's voice echoed across the marble.

"I hate you." Bella huffed crossing her arms. All she heard in response was more laughter.

* * *

"This is pay back for the shower, isn't it?" Rosalie sighed as she parked her car outside of the Swan residence the next afternoon.

"No, Rose. Contrary to popular belief, I do have a life that doesn't _**entirely**_ revolve around you." Bella reassured, leaning across the center console to give her pouting girlfriend a kiss on the cheek. "The fact that it also acts as pay back is simply a bonus."

The blonde vampire pout only deepened.

"Come on, Rose. You always knew you had to share."

The glare Rosalie threw her way could thaw ice. "Rosalie Hale, doesn't share."

"That must've made you extremely popular in the sandbox."

"I wouldn't know. My parents wouldn't let me play in that sandbox." Rosalie grumbled. "They said that it was unladylike."

"Of course, they did." Bella sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I promised Leah she could come pick me up tomorrow after school and that we could have a sleepover on the Rez. Charlie's going fishing with her dad on Saturday morning, so I'll just ride back with him. I promise that I'll be back in time to sweep you off of your feet for Valentine's Day."

Rosalie scoffed and looked out of her window.

"Fine," Bella sighed, again unbuckling her seatbelt "I'll see you Sunday morning, Rosalie." A hand shot out and gently grasped her wrist before she could open the door.

"I'm sorry." Rosalie murmured. "I'm behaving like a boar and I apologize." She gently slid her hand down the brunette's wrist until she clasped her hand.

"I'm just not very good with sharing, but that's no excuse. I can see that you're excited to spend time with your… _friend_ and you shouldn't let me ruin it. I know I shouldn't, but I just worry about all the types of trouble you two can get into."

"Oh, we're going to be absolute **heathens** , but I don't want you to worry about me." Bella said, interlacing their clasped hands. The chill of the blonde's hand still sent a thrill through her. It was like holding hands with a perfectly carved, marble statue. Perfectly carved for _her_ , marble statue.

"That's exactly what worries me." Rosalie said catching Bella's eye.

Bella just shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "You have your wolf best friend and I have mine."

"Don't let Alice hear you saying that."

"You think I have a death wish? She already knows."

"She knows?" Rosalie challenged turning in her seat to better look at Bella. "She knows and she's ok with being usurped?"

"Yup!" Bella grinned popping the "p" as her body instinctively turned to mirror Rosalie's. "We came to a compromise. Also 'usurped'? I knew we shouldn't have made you watch Game of Thrones."

"A compromise? That doesn't sound like the hellish pixie I know." Rosalie drawled, raising her brow. "How on earth did you manage that?"

"Believe me, it wasn't easy." The brunette emphasized as her chocolate eyes gleamed with amusement. "The compromise is that Leah will be my _wolf_ best friend and Alice will be my _vampire_ best friend."

The vampire's eyebrow rose even higher as her voice dropped to a conspiratory whisper, "Does Emmett know?"

"No. And if you tell him, I'll have to kill you." Bella replied as she met her mate's honey eyes.

"Wait, I just realized something." Rosalie mused." If Leah is your _wolf_ best friend and Alice is your _vampire_ best friend, then what am I?"

Bella looked like she'd been waiting for the blonde to ask. "It's a secret."

"I'm good at keeping secrets." Rosalie pointed out.

Bella leaned across the console again and crooked her finger at the other girl to come closer. "You really want to know?" The blonde nodded leaning forward, leaving just millimeters for the girl to speak. "You're the moon when I'm lost in darkness and warmth when I shiver in the cold."

Rosalie's honey eyes shifted into a burnt gold as she moved to close the gap between them. Suddenly, the porch light began to flicker, and Bella pulled back chuckling to herself. "Looks like Charlie's home and still maintains the record for the most impeccable timing."

"Sorry, Rose. I promise –"

"Yes, yes. That you'll make it up to me." The blonde mumbled, pout firmly back in place.

Bella teased. "Please try not to pout the _entire_ time I'm gone."

* * *

Alice's blinding smile greeted her as she lowered her hand poised to ring the bell. "I should've known that you would see me coming."

"Yes, you should've." Alice's mischievous eyes twinkled. "We've all been very…eager for your arrival." She stepped aside to allow the other girl entry.

Bella raised her eyebrow as she looked at the pixie. Alice leaned in to whisper, "Some of us more than others." Bella just shook her head as she walked into the living room.

"Is that so?" She said while surveying the room. Emmett was sitting on the couch with…a full upper body cast, and Edward was furiously tinkering with his piano. Esme was measuring a large gap in the drywall and comparing different paint swatches. Bella assumed Carlisle was at the hospital. Jasper seemed to be the only one sitting serenely, reading a novel. He and Emmett rose when they entered.

"Do I even want to know?" Bella motioned to the room at large. Her eyes lingered on Emmett and he sent her a wink.

"I would love to say that I didn't deserve it, but…" Emmett shrugged or at least attempted to shrug.

"Well, I for one certainly didn't deserve this monstrous behavior." Edward said, finally joining the group. A deep scowl adorned his face, but he nodded his head in greeting to Bella.

"You absolutely did." A voice behind Bella said. A shiver ran down her spine as her heart rate kicked into high gear. Her body would know that voice anywhere. She turned slowly as Rosalie descended the grand stairs. Even though she hadn't told Rosalie what they were going to be doing, she was still perfectly dressed.

Platinum blonde hair was curled in perfect ringlets down her back and lite make-up adorned her sparkling honey eyes. A cream-colored turtleneck, cable-knit sweater hugged her curves. A black leather belt matched the knee-high black riding boots.

"Good morning, Isabella." Rosalie purred. Bella made a mortifying sound caught between a choke and a gasp.

The tinkling laughter beside Bella tipped her off that the giant teddy bear definitely had some help in that department. "Don't look at me like that. She was being an absolute _**nightmare**_ and it was one of the few ways to distract her."

"One of only a few?" Shaking her head, Bella turned to her petite, best friend.

The mischievous sparkle back in Alice's golden eyes, "Yes. All the others required me to tie her up and throw her over the treaty line in your general direction." Rosalie's quiet growl cut through Alice's musings. "But, as it just so happens, I didn't feel like starting a war today."

Sensing her girlfriend's agitation, Bella reached out a hand, gently grasping Rosalie's. The blonde's hard look immediately softened as golden eyes turned to catch mahogany. Bella squeezed Rose's hand and murmured, "You look very beautiful, Ms. Hale."

"Thank you, sweetheart." Rosalie gently squeezing back. "You look quite dashing yourself."

Instantly, Bella's cheeks splashed with color as she tugged on the lapel of the form fitting navy blazer. She had chosen the pale blue button up and dark blue slacks on a shopping trip with Alice. Once the small pixie had discovered that Bella's style was more laid back androgynous, they were able to compromise on the "proper Bella aesthetic." Rosalie reached over to fix the skinny, blue tie hanging around the brunette's neck and gently tugged towards her.

"Are those for me?" Rosalie whispered, completely ignoring the room full of vampires surrounding them. Both were lost in their own little world. Bella nodded her head as her blush deepened as she reached behind her back for the custom bouquet she had created for the blonde.

In an intricate arrangement, Bella presented Rosalie with a bouquet of black roses and blue lilies. Rosalie's gasp was answer enough for the brunette. "Bella…" the blonde whispered, cradling the leather box.

"Those are _wicked!_ Where did you even find those, dude?!" Emmett's loud voice range out.

Just like that their bubble burst, and they were brought back to the Cullen's living room. Bella blushed again and nervously rubbed her neck. "It's a secret." She stammered.

"They're beautiful" Jasper said, gently effusing his serenity throughout the room. Esme just looked on at her girls with venom-tears pooled in her eyes. Even Edward's usual doom-gloom seemed to have abated.

The brunette coughed awkwardly, not knowing how to handle the various loving gazes being directed at her. Sensing her mate's distress, Rosalie gently tugged on their still intertwined hands.

"Shall we go? You promised to sweep me off of my feet" The blonde smirked. "And I for one, think you're off to an amazing start. Let's go."

* * *

"You pouted the entire time I was gone, didn't you?" Bella teased once they were safely inside the cab of her truck and on the road.

"No, not the entire time. For example, last night, I hid Edward's piano strings, and he couldn't find them for several hours." Rosalie smirked.

"And Emmett?"

A shine came into canary yellow eyes as her smirk grew. "On second thought, I think I would rather wait to hear about that one." Bella grimaced.

"So where are you taking me too?" Rosalie asked as she played with their interlocked fingers on her lap. Bella just gave her a look. "You're _**still**_ not going to tell me, are you?"

"Nope!" Bella boasted.

"Will you tell me if I guess?"

"No, Rosalie." Bella groaned. "Where's your sense of adventure? Where's your sense of surprise?"

Rosalie points to herself with her free hand. "You _do_ realize that I'm centenarian vampire with a mind reading brother and a future seeing sister, yes?"

"What's your point, Ms. Hale. Just let me love you and stop asking questions."

The blonde's face immediately betrayed her with a small smile she reserved only for Bella. She settled into the supple leather seats and listened to the purr of the engine.

The sun was fighting valiantly with the clouds to escape, but Alice had informed her that it would continue to be overcast for the rest of the day. What few rays did escape the clutches of the clouds, refracted off of the blonde's skin and gently filled the cabin with prisms of light.

"Have I told you today how Helen of Troy would die of jealousy at how many wars would be won in honor of your beauty?" Bella said without taking her eyes off the road.

"Not today, no."

"How rude of me. Honestly, how do you put up with someone so uncouth?"

"I tried to dismiss you, but you're not to be dissuaded." Rosalie said stroking Bella's fingers and gripping tighter.

"You're the prettiest girl I've ever met, but you're a lot more than that." Bella murmured in response.

"You can't say things like that to me, Isabella."

"Why not?"

"Because you're operating a motor vehicle and if I properly express my gratitude, you will drive us into a ditch." The blonde's eyes flashed to a molten gold and Bella felt goosebumps. "Besides, the emergency room is not where I want to spend my first Valentine's day with you."

* * *

For the most part, they drove the rest of the way in companionable silence. Rosalie taking small opportunities to catch Bella off-guard with her teasing or to make a guess as to what they were about to do. Each guess became more and more outlandish, until Bella handed her a black blindfold to cover her eyes. The blonde raised a solitary eyebrow but took the offered piece of silk and tied it around her eyes. Rosalie knew that her mate had put a lot of thought into the day, so she dulled her vampire senses by entering into a meditative state as to not ruin the surprise.

When she finally felt the car come to a stop, Rosalie made no move to remove the blindfold or exit the truck. She could hear the brunette's steady heartbeat, like a drum, next to her and smiled at her human. Bella gently squeezed her hand as a signal that they had arrived, "I'm going to come around the cab and let you out, so please keep the blindfold on." Rosalie nodded her head.

The slight ocean breeze entered the truck as Bella opened the door and gently guided Rosalie out. Bella reached up to untie the knot and the silk fell away.

Rosalie gasped at the sight before them. Downtown Seattle was decorated in a Venetian Mardi Gras and the cloud-covered sun was well past it's peak. The lights against the dusky color of the sky created a breathtaking effect.

"I know that you've all been to Seattle before, but I realized that we've never been together. I know for a fact that there are several things that you've wanted to do here in the city but haven't gotten a chance to." Bella's quiet voice sounded from behind her. "Would you like to know the course of events now, or would you like to take it in as the afternoon goes on?"

Rosalie turned to gaze at Bella with an unreadable expression on her face. When she heard Bella's heartrate uptick, she realized that her lack of speech was probably making her human doubt herself.

"I want to experience it like it's the first time, with you." Rosalie felt a true smile slide into place on her face. The brunette's eyes sparkled as her smile matched Rose's.

"Great! Before we start our adventure, I have to tell you that you're slightly underdressed." Bella explained as she moved around the blonde to rummage in her bag in the back seat of the truck.

"Oh, am I?" Rosalie said with her signature eyebrow raise.

"Put your eyebrow down, I've prepared for everything so there's no need to worry." Bella replied without lifting her head out of the truck. "Ah ha! Got it."

When she emerged from the truck, she held a classic Venetian Mardi Gras mask in her hands. "I designed our masks to match! Very _Romeo & Juliet_, but without the horrific, compulsive heterosexuality that leads to tragedy."

"Sweetheart, that was _**Verona**_ not Venice." Rosalie corrected as she reached for the beautiful sliver mask with gold accents and tied it around her head.

"It's all Italian to me." Bella said, tying her own gold mask with silver accents around her head.

"Isabella, are you even Italian?" Rosalie sighed.

"You say potato, I say tomato." Bella said, shrugging her shoulders and pulling on their clasped hands. "Now, come on! Let's go! We're burning daylight!"

* * *

They stumbled out of the Seattle Art Museum just as dusk was giving way to darkness. The twinkle of the overhanging lights mixed with the streetlights coming on. But none of them could compare to Rosalie's blinding smile.

"How did you know about that exhibit and I didn't?" She declared. "I'm a monthly subscriber to several different automotive magazines, and I still had no word."

"I may have bribed Emmett to steal subscriptions that had any evidence or allusion to it. As well as promising Alice, a full best friend weekend of her choosing." Bella replied looking smug. "Totally, was worth it to see the look on your face when we walked in."

Rosalie just shook her head, smile still firmly in place. "I still can't believe that the American Car Museum loaned out its entire pre-WWI and WWI manufactured cars for this exhibit! Some of the cars in there are _**older**_ than me!" She looked lost in her memories as they glided down the sidewalk towards the next destination.

"Like I said, totally worth it to see you drool over them." Bella said, a smirk emerging on her lips. "You're practically _glowing_ under that mask, it's astoundingly unfair. I'm breathless."

The smoldering look Rose directed at her, actually did leave her breathless. She watched as liquid honey turned to burning amber and she couldn't help the stutter her heartbeat had. The blonde looked down at her chest to where her treacherous heart gave her away and slowly looked back at Bella from under her long eyelashes.

"Shame…all of the activities that _**I**_ can think of would leave you in a similar state." Rosalie smirked before walking off towards the row of food halls with Public Market Center sign glowing in the distance.

"Wait, where are we going?" Bella asked, laughing as the statuesque vampire dragged her along towards the street. "This isn't a part of my agenda for us!" She knew Rosalie wasn't using any of her vampire strength to push the issue, and that made her appreciate the blonde even more.

"Isabella, I have no doubt that the rest of the evening will be just as magical as the afternoon." Rosalie placated. "However, _my job_ is to make sure that my lovely mate has enough sustenance to make sure that she doesn't faint, so that she can enjoy the fruits of her labor."

"I'm not even…" Bella's stomach rumbled. "…hungry." The vampire just threw her head back and laughed. Bella realized that she had not seen her girlfriend look so free before. She was so used to seeing the blonde stoic or with her signature glare on her face, Bella fell in love with her again under the twinkling lights. Right in front of her eyes, she saw a flash of human-Rosalie and how bright her light must've been before it was so harshly snuffed out. She slowly reached her hand up to cup the back of the blonde's neck and gently ran her thumb along her jaw line once the laughter died down.

"You're the most beautiful soul to ever grace this earth and we don't deserve you."

Rosalie's eyes were back to a deep honey with flecks of amber in them. Bella knew she could spend the rest of forever counting each and every one of them. They let their eyes shut as they leaned forward. Bella could feel the wisps of Rosalie's soft hair graze her face.

A loud honk ripped them both away, millimeters from making contact with each other. With her vampiric reflexes, Rosalie swiftly pulled Bella to her on the nearby curb.

Bella tried to calm her racing heartbeat, not sure if it was the near-death experience or from the _n_ th almost kiss that they'd shared.

"We've got to stop meeting like this, Isabella." Rose whispered as she pushed back a stray lock of Bella's hair behind her ear.

"Is it me or aren't people in love supposed to kiss **more** the closer it gets to Valentine's Day?" Bella muttered, resting her forehead on Rosalie's. "Why do I feel like the world is trying to keep us from having nice things?" A pout pulling at her lips.

Rosalie rolled her eyes at the brunette's dramatics and poked at the pout, "Come on, love. The beast in your stomach is giving me a headache."

When Bella made no move to follow, the blond released her hand and began to walk towards the market. "If you're a good girl and follow me, I promise to show you what I got you for Valentine's Day." She said tossing her hair over her shoulder.

Seconds later, she felt Bella's warm hand back in hers.

* * *

"There's one more thing on our list." Bella said pointing at the night sky.

Rosalie just raised an eyebrow in response. "We've been over this, love." She said pointing to herself. "Vampire _**not**_ Valkyrie. I can't fly."

"No, you silly vampire!" Bella pointed toward the end of the pier. "The Ferris Wheel! That's where we're going." Under her breath, she mumbled, "the Valkyrie thing, I want to come back to later."

Bella reached into her jacket and pulled out a special wrist band. The blonde gave her a skeptical look when she handed it over. "I've already paid for the lift tickets, so no pouting."

When they walked over to the empty line to show their bands, Rosalie was sure that the ticket taker gave Bella a wink. Pushing down a possessive growl, she entered the glass cabin. Inside, there were sparkling lights fitting the Venetian theme as well as soft, orchestral music playing. The soft smell of lavender and the crisp smell of the ocean permeated the air.

As the doors shut softly, Rosalie spun around to look at her smirking mate. "There's no one else joining us in this contraption, is there?"

"Nope." She replied, grinning from ear to ear.

Slowly, the cabin began to rise upwards towards the dark sky. Rosalie walked towards the viewing glass and looked out into the inky, black sky. She leaned her forehead against the glass and took in the sparkling lights of the city fading away until all that was left was the vast ocean ahead.

When her eyes alighted on the darkness, her mind began to drift to dark memories of the past. Cold nights, rough hands. Wishing and praying for the darkness to come and take over, but it never did. The birth of a creature of the night who was terrified of the night. She ripped off her mask and tossed it onto the seat.

Suddenly, she felt Bella's warm presence behind her anchoring her to the present.

"Where did you go just now?" A warm voice whispered into her ear. "Come back to me."

"Did I ever tell you about my fear when I was a child?" Rosalie began.

"You're Rosalie Hale. I sort of assumed you'd just glared your fears into submission." Bella replied. Rosalie let out a small chuckle and appreciated the small break in tension her mate was trying to provide. Satisfied with seeing the small smile, Bella continued, "you know I would love to hear whatever you want to share with me."

"When I was growing up, my governess-"

"Of course, you had a governess." Bella teased, removing her own mask. "Right, sorry. Shutting up now."

"My governess, Annie, was my saving grace in the hellhole called home. She was my mother, my teacher and my best friend. We would spend hours together getting lost in stories of our own creation. She's the one who taught me that even though outward beauty might be what is coveted, it is inner beauty that most should aspire to. She taught me to always stand up for myself and not let anyone disrespect me, especially a man."

"Sounds like a wonderful woman."

"She really was. One day when I was about seven or eight and my brothers had reached a suitable age to join us on these adventures, she suggested going to a nearby trail she knew to have a magical waterfall. It was an unseasonably warm September, so we wanted to take full advantage of it. We got all of our things together, because you see we were going to have a picnic at the top of the waterfall." Rose continued, gracing a small smile at her younger self. "On our way to the trail, my governess's best friend joined us. This was not my first time meeting Marie, as she often joined us on these sorts of adventures."

"Marie was always a unique character. She wore trousers and was a carpenter's apprentice in town. This was quite uncommon, especially in a place like Rochester. She and Annie lived together above the carpenter's shop. Marie would often bring little wooden dolls that she'd crafted just for me. I would often see them sharing sly touches when they thought no one was watching or gazing into each other's eyes." When Bella leaned her head forward to rest on Rose's shoulder, she turned her head slightly, so they were pressed cheek to cheek.

"Anyway, there we all are at the top of this gorgeous waterfall, Annie and Marie spread this delicious assortment of snacks for us to picnic on. My brother's, however, were at that age where all they wanted to do was tease and challenge each other to do idiotic things: who could pitch the farthest rock, who could climb the tallest tree, who could jump the highest? Ever the proper lady, I marched right over to tell them that if they would stop blathering for ten minutes and join us for the lovely lunch, then I would jump down into the waterfall."

Bella's arms stilled around her before squeezing her tighter, almost as if the brunette could anticipate the sequence of events.

"Once we were done eating, my brothers came to collect. Never one to be called a liar or a fake, I waited until both Annie and Marie were distracted. I quickly walked over to a bush to remove my outer dress and shoes; I wouldn't want my mother to pitch a fit if my clothes were ruined. Seizing my moment, I took off towards the waterfall's edge. It wasn't until I was mid-flight that I remembered two things: one, that I didn't know how to swim and two, I didn't know how deep or how jagged the water was going to be." Bella encircled her arms around Rosalie's waist.

"Luckily, only one of those was a problem. The bottom of the fall had been smoothed by the ages and was quite deep. The problem was that I didn't know how to swim and there was complete darkness when I opened my eyes underwater. I couldn't breathe and I didn't know which way was up." She remembers the way the water tasted, even a century later. Bella's fingers began to rub small circles into Rosalie's side.

"Just when I thought my little lungs were going to give out, strong arms wrapped around my middle and pulled me to the surface. Marie had jumped into the river after my brother's had rushed over to them when I didn't resurface. She towed me to the bed of the waterfall, and I coughed up half of the creek. Annie rushed over with the boys to make sure that we were both alright. I had a scratch at my hair line and Marie had a gash along her leg, but we were both going to be ok. Annie made us all promise to take this secret to our graves. We stayed out until we dried off enough so as to not draw suspicion from my parents. When we got home, my brothers said that they were the ones to cause the cut above my eye when I tried to stop their sword fight with sticks and my parents were none the wiser."

"That must've been such a horrible experience for you, Rose. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I'm so glad Marie and Annie were there."

"Me too. After that, I was terrified of the dark and begged my father for a nightlight. I tried to refuse my baths, but my mother wouldn't hear of it. Annie must've told Marie about my crippling fear, because the woman showed up the following week on our walk to the park. She got down on one knee and asked me if I would give her the honor of letting her be my swim instructor."

"And? What did you say?" Bella asked.

"Marie was the only 'suitor' that I didn't turn down. Over the next few weeks, she helped me get over my fear. By the time fall truly fell, I was a very adept swimmer. And…I might've developed a small crush on my swim instructor. Annie figured it out pretty quickly and would mercilessly tease me when Marie was nearby. I once had the audacity to tell her that it was customary to share toys, and Annie's laugh at that still rings in my ears."

"What happened to them?" she questioned.

"Annie stayed on until my brothers were about eight or nine and I was about sixteen. She was the first person I told when I realized that my feelings for my dear friend Vera were more than just that of a typical best friendship. She looked me right in the eye and said, 'Thank god, I don't have to fight you for Marie. I don't know if I could take you.' Then, burst out laughing when my whole body flushed. They both ended up moving to Los Angeles together after the crash because Hollywood always needed an extra pair of hands and there were always wealthy children to look after. After I was turned, I visited their home in LA. They were married and even had a child of their own to take care of. I made sure to keep an eye on them, but they both died days apart just about a decade ago. Now, I check in on their child now and then just to feel that connection."

By this point, they had reached the top of the wheel and had come to a complete stop. Bella gave Rosalie a few moments to live in her memories before gently giving her waist a squeeze.

"I'm glad that they were there to guide you through the darkness." Bella said. "Thank you for sharing a part of your past with me. I know that's never easy, but I'm so proud of you for pushing through that to let me see that side of you."

"Thank you for listening. I don't think I've told that story before." Rosalie whispered turning her head to catch Bella's gaze. "I don't even think Edward has been able to pry it from my mind. You're the one I want to share these things with. There are dark parts of me, but, like Marie, you're always there to bring light and air to them."

As if on cue, the sky was lit up my golden fireworks. Never ending cascades of color, that was reflected in mahogany and gold eyes.

"I will always be here for you, Rosalie Lillian Hale. Now and forever." Bella confessed. "You make everyday a new adventure and I couldn't have asked for a better partner-in-crime. Thank you, love."

Rosalie fully turned in her mate's embrace with venom-pooled eyes, "You make me better." She murmured "You make me _**want**_ to be better. I was never supposed to _**want**_ again. I was supposed to trek through the rest of this miserable life alone and bitter." The blonde slipped her fingers into dark chocolate tresses until her nails were gently scrapping the scalp.

"Now, we get to trek through this miserable life _together_ and be bitter." Bella teased. "However, I promise that if it gets to be too tedious, then we can climb the world's tallest waterfall and jump off together."

Rosalie tightened her fingers in Bella's hair and pulled the brunette down into a searing kiss. Bella could see fireworks behind her eyelids that she knew for certain had nothing to do with the ones outside. She tightened her grip on the vampire's waste and gentle moaned into her mouth. The blonde took that as an opportunity to slide the tip of her tongue against the inner seam of the girl's mouth. They continued on like that for what felt like an eternity.

"Now, there's a promise that I know you _**can**_ keep." Rosalie hummed.

**Author's Note:**

> This was not supposed to be almost 7k, but the plot bunny grabbed me and ya'know how that goes. 
> 
> Who did you love and who did you hate? 
> 
> In the words of Lady Gaga, I live for the applause...or was that Tinkerbell? 
> 
> FYI: This is not within the I.O Universe, but it could be a part of a new universe I've been toying with...
> 
> Let me know your thoughts?!


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